Comment policy
VTD requires that all commenters identify themselves by first and last name. You may wonder why we don’t accept anonymous comments. The short answer is: We want to keep the discourse civil.
You might rightly ask, since most online newspapers accept anonymous posts from readers, what makes VTD so special?
The long answer is: Anonymous comments don’t support our mission. We are a nonprofit news organization dedicated to enhancing democracy through in-depth journalism. Our role is to foster a civil online discourse, and one very simple and effective way to do that is to require commenters to identify themselves. This isn’t a new idea, of course. This is the way newspapers have treated letters to the editor since time immemorial.
As a result of our comment policy, VTD has created a safe zone for readers who want to engage in a thoughtful discussion on a range of subjects. We hope you join the conversation.
Op-ed policy
VTDigger.org publishes 12 commentaries a week from a broad range of sources, including individual readers, environmental and consumer groups, and leaders in education, the nonprofit sector, business and state government.
We post two op-eds per day, Monday through Saturday.
We are constantly on the look-out for well-written, insightful commentaries from our readers. So please send us your considered opinions.
Here are our general guidelines:
- All op-eds must include the author’s first and last name, town of residence and a brief biography, including affiliations with political parties, lobbying or special interest groups.
- We have a minimum length of 400 words for commentaries. We encourage authors to write succinctly, but we know that a thoroughgoing analysis of a complicated issue can require space, and luckily, thanks to the wonders of the Web, our ink is virtually free. We have plenty of room.
- Though we review op-eds and provide some copyediting support, we do not have the staff to provide rewrites. We reserve the right to reject opinions for matters of taste and accuracy.
Press release policy
VTDigger.org posts press releases as a way of providing readers with information directly from businesses, state agencies, political organizations and nonprofits.
We do not edit or rewrite press releases.
We allow readers to comment on releases, and we encourage readers to contact the originator of a given release for more information.
Privacy Policy
VTDigger.org does not share specific information about our readers with other entities. Email addresses we collect through our subscription list and comment submissions are kept private.
We use Google analytics to generate aggregated data regarding the size and geographic distribution of our readership. This information helps us gauge how many readers come to the website and what towns they live in. It does not include addresses or other identifying characteristics about our readers.
